So I started this project with a running car back in the first week of Sept this year. Since then it has seen a shop, been smoged and is running very very well @ 40,000 miles. I am the second owner. The car has patina dents and scrapes on the body but NO rust, the top is excellent as is the interior considering it was used by several people over 17 years, it was a one owner car but the family used it.

When I first saw it the car was awakend from a dead battery coma of two years. It ran, had check engine lights, would not pass smog...etc...

I have i think repaired the rear window outter seal so it does not pop out when the top is used. The passenger door latch is waiting an install as the original one was broken by being closed on a seat belt. The rear trunk latch which says FORD on it is being replaced, it controls the rear trunk lights and they do not work as of yet.

Did the test of the coil packs and fuel injectors, all ok, needed a new battery which got rid of the check engine light and the not passing smog. New plugs, the old ones were I suspect original. The oil changes with synthetic and a new bosch filter, the coolant changed out the 50/50.

fuel filter changed, all the old gas has been burned off. gave the car a good cleaning and have yet to clay bar it, the paint is good, it's that eggplant purple color with crome wheels and a black top, tan interior. car has the harmon kardon stereo, replaced the rear speakers as one was shot with Alpine's and the stereo sounds great.

All the little bits now work...new fuse for the lighter, no dash cracks as the car lived in a garage most of it's life. top does not leak. all the windows work. did the mass air meter which gave out. new/used ebay replacement interior mirror. new air cleaner element by Mann. new coolant cap, which was available over the counter at OReileys auto parts. new bulbs for trunk where none were needed just in case, again over the counter.

brakes and trans work perfectly as does the power steering, all the lights. the tires are mich pilots with 1/2 tread life, about 4 years old.

Most of what I am doing is for the first time, i have never owned a British car before and it's all new, but familar at the same time.

so after the latches are fixed and barring any other failures I eventually may attend to new brakes(brakes work perfectly), new tires and an allignments in the future,but the car is beautiful.

I had little interest in Jags before this and none in this model....now i have a much better understanding of the car, what is requires to keep it running, and most of what i have done has been a result of the prior owners only fixing anything when the car broke down, and then only the minimum (two oil changes in 17 years,etc).

I do love the way this car looks and drives, reminds me of something else, like an old American car or something my Dad would have loved and I am 66! I do enjoy it. my other cars call out to be driven and the jag wins right now...just sorting it out has taken over 6 weeks and some trial and error....not to mention the dreaded water pump replacement and the timing chain issues....coming...and so far it does not leak a drop of oil or smoke out the tailpipe.....AND it purrs....really purrs....

 

The water pump is easy but you do need to attend to the cam chain tensioners. Based on your comments about the detailed maintenance the car received there is a high probability that the original plastic tensioners are still in place. They will fail and can take the engine with them. That is a little more complex than the water pump but much more critical.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Jaguar!

 

Very nice write up, thank you. Though the brakes and transmission work perfectly, you may consider fluid flush and replace on both, just to be sure after sitting for a couple of years. I also had the rear window seal popping out each operation, not sure how you fixed yours, but a couple of drops of Gorilla Glue did the trick for me. Please post pictures!

 

thanks for the rear window seal tip, so far i have used silicone spray lubricant after a good clean out...it still moves up but not coming out, we will see after several uses.
all fixed, except the rear trunk lights...replaced the latch, but the cable was short so i am thinking it came out of a sedan that Jag made rather than the convertible...we changed out the cable and it went right in...however the trunk lights still DO NOT WORK...so maybe it's defective and maybe there is a short...any way....too much work for little gain so I will live with it...I wonder how many here have functional trunk lights ? or can say that everything but the trunk lights work perfectly...on a 1999 car?